Avi Kivity Stepping Down from the KVM Project

Avi Kivity giving his keynote speech

Avi Kivity announced he is stepping down as (co-)maintainer of the KVM Project at the recently-concluded KVM Forum 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Avi wrote the initial implementation of the KVM code back at Qumranet, and has been maintaining the KVM-related kernel and qemu code for about 7 years now.

In his keynote speech, he mentioned he’s founding a startup with a friend, and hopes to create new technology as exciting as KVM. He also mentioned they’re in stealth mode right now, so questions about the new venture didn’t get any answers.

He returned to the stage on the second day of the Forum to talk about the new memory API work he’s been doing in qemu, and in his typical dry humour, he mentioned he was supposed to vanish in a puff of smoke after his keynote, but the special effects machinery didn’t work, so he was back on stage. Avi later rued the lack of laughter at this joke, and that made him very sad. To offer him some consolation, it was pointed out that not everyone knew of his departure, as many had missed his keynote. He quipped “that’s even worse than not getting laughs”.

His leadership, as well as his humour, will be missed. Personally, he’s helped me grow during the last few years we’ve worked together. But I’m sure whatever he’s working on will be something to look forward to, and we’re not really bidding him adieu from the tech world.